Tony Antosh receives Paul W. Crowley education award at State House

Anthony “Tony” Antosh, professor of special education and founding director of the Paul V. Sherlock Center on Disabilities at RIC, was given the 2012 Paul W. Crowley Award to honor his service and dedication in a State House ceremony on March 7.

Anthony "Tony" Antosh

Each year the Rhode Island School Superintendents’ Association (RISSA) gives the award to one Rhode Island citizen who has demonstrated time-honored commitment to improving the quality of education in the state, much like late Representative Paul Crowley did throughout his career.

According to RISSA, “Tony Antosh has had a strong, positive influence on education in Rhode Island. His impact is felt at every level, but, most strongly and importantly, at the classroom and student level, where his belief in the fundamental importance of teachers has focused on his work with aspiring and current professionals throughout the state.”

“I am honored to receive an award that bears Paul Crowley's name and carries on the passion for public education that inspired both Paul Sherlock and Paul Crowley,” said Antosh. “Public education is, in my opinion, one of the most critical functions of government. The mandate of public education is to reach all students and to exclude none.”

“I have the greatest respect for those teachers who, sometimes in very difficult circumstances, deliver quality education to the students of Rhode Island,” he added. “They deserve much more recognition than they get. I will always be an advocate for teachers and schools.”

With the award comes a $1,000 scholarship that Antosh will present to a high school senior in the town of West Warwick planning to pursue a career in education.

Antosh’s work spans from leading efforts to close the Ladd School in Exeter, to moving students with disabilities into regular classrooms across the state.

More recently, Antosh has become the state coordinator for the Rhode Island Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), which aims to improve learning environments and academic performance. To date, RIC’s Sherlock Center has trained over 100 schools in PBIS.

The Sherlock Center was founded at RIC in 1993, and is one of 67 University Centers on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) in the state working to help individuals with disabilities to fully participate in the community. In the last five years, over 120,000 people have worked with or participated in activities through the Sherlock Center.